Roger used to work for Gallaher Paper in Thorold, Ontario, before the paper mill closed suddenly in May of 1999. Some day, he might find out what happened to the fund for severance pay, and may even get all the money that is owing to him! Mike Gallaher should be ashamed of himself for the way the closing of this paper mill was handled! He has, apparently, just moved on and is pulling the same tricks in the south-eastern USA according to news reports we have found!

Lesley, our oldest daughter, is in her late-twenties, working at RIM, and a mother! She is a beautiful woman, and she has the sweetest son named Austyn, born in October 2000. He is the apple of this grandmother's eye! Sadly, Austyn's father, Scott Kennedy, died in a car accident in January 2003. Lesley has matured wonderfully and moved on with her life.

Lesley is now very happily married to Joe and they welcomed an adorable son and baby brother for Austyn, Riley Jordan, into the world on February 23rd, 2006. Now this grandmother has two delightful grandsons!

Shelley, now 25, is the middle daughter and a lab manager at Lens Crafters. She is engaged to Brian, and they are planning a wedding in 2008.

Chrissie is now 23, an adult - believe it or not! She has discovered the Internet and MSN Messenger and MUSIC, which is the love of her life. She works in a hair salon and thoroughly enjoys her job.

Karen still likes to travel and explore Canada & the United States. Here's a pictoral look at the highlights of some of the trips, including one across the United States that she took in 1994 with four kids tagging along. She drove the northern route across the United States to British Columbia, then went south to the Grand Canyon, and home the southern route - a total of 8,000+ miles in 24 days! This shot of the Grand Canyon is one of Karen's favorites.

Other Cat related activites

Karen is the computer expert and 'Net surfer in our house, and has managed to combine both of these hobbies with the cats, by being a member of the Internet Cat Club. She belongs to Peace Bridge Aby Fanciers and Ontario Cat Fanciers as well. Both Roger and Karen are active members of Vintage Cat Fanciers, the Longhair Cat Club of Canada and the Canadian Shorthair Cat Club.

Karen spends a lot of time in her office working on her computer - when she can convince Grand Champion Tailsend Carpet Bagger not to let his long red paws and tail hang down in front of the monitor! Karen swears he's been taking lessons from Bubbles, who wrote Internet for Cats! A screen capture of our cattery home page was even included in this book - WOW!

Karen is a HUGE fan of the artwork of Louis Wain, and was delighted to find the website called Welcome to Catland that shows some of his artwork depicting cats.

For years, Karen's home office has been a Canadian extension of CFA's Public Relations Department. For visitors to our site, here's a complete listing of all CFA shows held around the world.

Karen has also had several cat and pet related articles published, including a two part series, Pets on the Internet, that was printed in the Spring and Summer issues of Pets Quarterly Magazine. She and Dan Petty joined forces in 1996-1997 to write a monthly column for the Cat Fanciers' Almanac about cats, computers and the Internet. These articles can be found online here thanks to permission from The Cat Fanciers' Almanac to make them available to non-subscribers. A series of reviews of pedigree software were cowritten with Gary Schleicher and also published in the Almanac.

In November 2000, Karen received a Muse Medallion as the editor of the latest CFA online venture, an ezine called Fanc-e-Mews.

At the CFA Annual in 1994, Karen received an award from CFA in recognition of her efforts to promote the pedigreed cat in Canada. The inscription reads:

The Cat Fanciers' Association, Inc. proudly recognizes Karen Lawrence for providing valued assistance with CFA's Public Relations efforts in Canada, aimed to promote public awareness in the areas of responsible pet ownership and pedigreed cats while working to raise the stature of cats and CFA in Canada. Presented June 17, 1994 at the CFA Annual Meeting, Traverse City, Michigan.